Something Strange
by Gamma Orionis
Summary: There's something strange about Lily Evans... or at least, about what she can do. Written for Ravenclaw House homework on Hogwarts Online II.


Author's Notes: Written for Ravenclaw House Homework assigned by Professor Lola on Hogwarts Online II.

_Have you ever wonder how Harry found out he was different? Which was Ron's first magic outburst? And... Hermione's? In this challenge you will have to claim a character and write about their first magic outburst when they were little.___

Enjoy!

)O(

There had been a fight with Petunia. It wasn't a big fight – by the time Lily got to the park, she couldn't even remember what it was over – but it was enough for Petunia to go running upstairs and lock herself in the room the shared, and enough for Lily to rush outside and go to the park where she could be alone.

There were other children around the village, but Lily considered the playground her property. Other children seemed to have a habit of staying away – or of turning away when they saw her. She didn't mind, it kept things quiet.

Stewing over her fight with Petunia – and trying to remember what the original source of the argument had been – she made her way over to the swing and sat upon it, dragging her toes through the gravel and staring up at the bright blue sky.

Despite her intentions to brood and feel melancholy, Lily felt a smile curve across her mouth. The air was warm, the sun bright, and now that she was alone, she found it much easier to be in a good mood than bad.

She watched a bird circling overhead, then landing in a tree, and smiled. How lovely it would be to fly the way that bird did – it looked so graceful and effortless…

Lazily, she started swinging her legs, kicking the ground gently to build up momentum. The chains of the swing creaked in her hands, and she paused nervously for a second, then kicked harder. She leaned back, stretching her legs out in front of her as she swung forward, then pulled her legs up under herself on the way backwards.

A steady rhythm built, Lily feeling her heart soar and swell with excitement. Her throat felt tight with happiness, and a sort of derisive satisfaction – no one could stop her right then, no matter who they were or how hard they tried.

She was swinging so high the chains went slack in her hands when she stopped at the height of her ark. With every swoop, there was a moment of glorious anticipation and heart-wrenching, visceral fear as she hovered for a second in midair before gravity pulled her back down again.

The chains creaked loudly in her ears, but she didn't care, swinging still higher, faster, so high she turned almost upside down when she hit the top of the arc, and higher still, and then–

Something was wrong. Lily's stomach felt as though it was falling down to somewhere in the vicinity of her ankles. She wasn't swinging anymore. She was immobile, hanging in midair, and she felt the chains slip from her hands and the swing disappeared from under her. And then she was falling.

Lily screamed, but her voice was swallowed up in the air rushing past her ears as the ground flew up towards her. For just a split second, the simple, horrible thought _I'm about to die_ – not a thought any child so small should have had to think – flashed in Lily's mind, as her eyes fixed on the grass approaching far too quickly. _I'm going to die_, she thought and then she felt herself hit the ground.

If it was death, it didn't hurt. Lily felt a sort of vague impact, and then…

Then she wasn't dead.

She was lying on her stomach in the grass, her nose in the dirt, a bit breathless, but not in the least bit of pain. For a long time, she was afraid to move, worrying that if she did, she would find out that she really was hurt, but finally managed to work up the courage to wiggle her toes, then her fingers, then finally push herself up.

She was shaking a little, but not hurt, more confused than anything. Her knees felt a little weak as she climbed to her feet, but she managed to turn around and look at the swing set.

The swing upon which she had been sitting was hanging quite still, looking utterly innocent.

Lily shivered. She didn't know what was happening, she didn't understand. All she knew was that there was something strange about a girl who could fall off a swing from the height of its arc and land on the ground without a scratch.

)O(

_Fin_


End file.
